Pages

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bossy Betty Tells a Story to Warm Your Hearts and Soothe Your Souls: Day Two

Please note! If you missed the first installment of this story, please scroll down and read Part One first. (By the way, where have you been?)

Donald:

The Wonder Cat

Soon the cat care books were on the shelf and Donald Ray Smith (we had named him after Dan's boss) was firmly rooted in our lives. What I enjoyed as normal cat behavior-- his graceful jumps from the ground all the way to the top of the fence on the patio, his meticulous grooming, his quick reactions to strings dragged across the floor--Dan, who had never been around cats (and by the way was not allergic,) considered all of these feats as evidence that we had, indeed, procured a Wonder Cat.

"Did you see that?" he'd say with exuberance when Donald balanced himself on the thin windowsill and then jumped over to the counter. "Have you ever in all your life seen a smarter cat? he said, full of pride when Donald located the cabinet with the cat food inside and opened it with his paw. Proud father, he was convinced that Donald was more attractive, smarter and more athletically gifted than all the other cats in the world. "Just look at the muscles in those legs!" "I mean, this is one special cat," he'd say, holding him aloft like a trophy.

I had to admit, Donald was special. I, who had grown up with cats, had never had a one who was so affectionate. He adored being with us, sitting at the table when we ate, reading the newspaper when we read it, and when it was time to go to bed, he stretched out between us, his head on the pillow. He was also exceptionally clever. He learned how to answer our telephone that hung on our wall. When it rang, he would race to the kitchen counter, jump up and give the receiver a good whack to knock it from the cradle. After he had knocked it down, he jumped off the counter and batted the receiver around like a mouse as the person on the other end repeatedly said, "Hello?" Hello?" My mom, who had seen him do this when she was visiting, would reply "Hello, Donald!" She reported having fine conversations with him when we were not home.